Piano construction



June 17, 1952 H. G. NICKEL PIANO CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Mayl2, 1950 INVENTUR.

HAL G. NICKEL.

Ar rie/VH? June 17, G, NICKEL PIANO CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledMay 12, 1950 INVENTOR. HAI. G. Mcm.

A TMR/Vi if June 17, 1952 H. G. NICKEL PIANO CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet3 Filed May l2, 1950 INVENTOR. HAL G. NICKEL BY M14@ A Tra/Y n/fXPatented June 17, 1952 Uru'rrol STATES traiteur OFFICE 2 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in piano construction and moreparticularly to the construction of a case for an upright type of piano.

The object of my invention is to provide a sectional case that `willenclose the string plate and mechanical parts of the instrument.

Another object of my invention is to provide a means for constructing acase for an upright piano which is easily assembled and provides accesstothe interior of the piano Without mechanical changes.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a case which may bevaried in design by attaching various accessories.

Still another object of my invention is to pro- -vide a device that isornamental, serviceable, economical to manufacture and lends itself to agreat many advantages due to its unusual construction and the ability tochange it into various designs.

It is manifest to anyone familiar with the art that due to many demandsand personal opinions, dealers are compelled to carry a large inventoryof instruments to suit individual tastes. The device described,illustrated and claimed herein is a means to enable the dealer to carrya few instruments and a variety of accessories that will enable the sameinstrument to be changed into a variety of designs.

Other and further objects of my invention will become more apparent asthe description proceeds and when taken in conjunction with the drawingin which Figure l is a perspective view of the assembled case.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary perspective View of a case as shown in Figure1 with the accessories attached thereto.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view oi a case showing theaccessories placed in position ready for attaching.

Figure e is a fragmentary cross-sectional View of a case having afragmentary section of a side plate attached thereto and illustratingthe manner of its attachment.

Figure 5 is a perspective View 0i the frame construction of the casewith the top plate, the base molding, and the key board forming a partthereof, and

Figure 5 is a formed front section of a size and contour to lit thefront of the frame structure.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughoutthe several views and referring now to the same, the character i0 showsa front plate or section which is formed at its ends ll and Il tottheparticular contour of the piano case being constructed. The frontp-late l0 is provided with an elongated aperture i3 which accommodatesthe key board shown as l2, Which forms apart of the frame structure asshown in Figure 5. This frame structure consists of vertical members lf3supporting a top plate l5 and being supported at the bottom 'ey a basemolding. I6. The frame structure supports the string plate, not shown,and the mechanical parts which constitute the instrument.

The base molding l5 is cut out at l'i to accommodate the conventionalfoot pedal shown as I8. |There is a ledge l5y on the key board I whichis arranged to support a support for sheet music. This support is shownas 2G. There are end portions 2! on the key board l2 which are providedwith angular slots 22. The Vertical standards le are provided with boltsshown as 23 and the side plates 24 are shown provided with hook members25 which threadedly engage the inserts 2S within the side plates 24, andthe bolts 23 through the vertical standards I4 threadedly engage inserts2l which are imbedded into the plate 2li.

Obviously, the side plates may be varied in design and inasmuch as theyare a conspicuous portion of the assembly, it is possible to change thegeneral appearance of the case by their attachment. This also applies tothe support 'it for the sheet music which must be of the same generaldesign as the side plates 2Q. rlhis variation in design is shown inFigures 2 and 3.

1t will be manifest to anyone familiar with piano case construction thatthe arrangement shown and described will lend itself readily for thepurpose intended, inasmuch as the mechanical unit may be supported bythe frame structure I show in Figure 5, and the front panel l0 is formedto a contour to iit the base l0 and the top plate l5 of the framestructure and may be placed into position over the key board l2 as shownin Figure l.

rlhe panel l0 may be attached by means of bolts in the verticalstandards I4 and these bolts may be covered with ornamental plates shownas 28 in Figure l.

lf the general arrangement and design of the unit is to be changed,varied side plates 24 may be attached by means of the hook bolts 25which engage the slots 22 in the end portions 2i, and they may beattached to the front of the panel i] by means of the screws or bolts 23and mounted on the standards I4 passing through the panel I0.

The sheet music support 20 may be attached as shown as 29 in Figure 2.This support may be of any design to match the side plate 24. In thismanner the same piano case may be made to assume varied designs byvarying the side plates and the sheet music support.

In the chosen embodiments of my invention there are features notheretofore disclosed in the prior art, and although I have shown aspecic arrangement and contour of the component parts, I am fullycognizant of the fact that many changes in the form and configuration ofthese parts may be made without effecting their operativeness, and Ireserve the right to make such changes without departing from the spiritof my invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent in the United States is:

1. An enclosure to be used in combination with a piano constructionwhich comprises a frame structure, a top plate, a base molding and a keyboard, said enclosure comprising, a vertical plate, said plate formed toa contour corresponding to the front and sides of the frame structure ofsaid piano construction, said plate provided with an elongated aperturearranged to receive the key board on said piano construction, removableend portions, means for attaching said end portions to said front plateand key board, a removable sheet music support, and means for mountingsaid sheet music support to the key board forming a part of the pianostructure.

2. A device of the character described to be used in combination with apiano construction comprising, a frame structure to house the mechanicalunit of said instrument, said frame structure consisting of a verticalstandard, a top plate supported by said vertical structure, a basemolding and a key board, said device comprising, a vertical front plate,said plate of a contour to t the front and sides of said framestructure, said plate provided with an elongated aperture to accommodatesaid key board arrangement of said piano structure, a pair of removableend members attached on the vertical front plate of the key boardarrangement of said piano construction to support said end members, aremovable sheet music support, and means on the key board arrangementforming a part of said piano construction for attaching said sheet musicsupport.

HAL G. NICKEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,220,225 Farny Nov. 5, 19402,263,839 Farny Nov. 25, 1941 2,505,805 Stein May 2, 1950 2,505,806Stein May 2, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 180,769 GreatBritain June 7, 1922

